Not Just a Luna

Chapter 11

As the moon begins to rise over the horizon, the sun having just left us, my father begins the Blood Moon ceremony.

"Good Evening, Nightingale Pack. We meet, once again, for the ceremony of the Blood Moon." My father addresses the hundreds of wolves in front of him. "Tonight, we act to please the goddess, and so we give her the blood of the strongest, and three of our own."

The three pups that stand on the top of the hill are shivering, as they wait in the cold, dark night. Who knows what will happen to them after tonight?

"We will please the moon goddess so that she will bless us with the strongest pack, and we ask her to protect us from harm, and we make the exchange. Nothing comes without sacrifice." Father's voice is powerful, breaking through the silence of the night.

"So, in saying that, our ceremony shall begin. We ask for all wolves to stand, as human as our other half goes to her in this time for her to grow her power. We summon the goddess's eyes to look down upon us on this land, as to receive our offerings."

Father finishes talking and begins to walk. He strides up the hill and stands in front of the large stone. He's in between the stone, and the pups. He picks up the knife that lies on the stone, and then, he pulls the blade across his palm.

He lets his blood drip onto the stone for a few seconds, and then, he uses his left hand to slip the red ring off his finger. He puts it on the stone, and part of the stone begins to light up.

He returns to the bottom of the hill, and it is now my turn.

I walk up to the top of the hill. Father was right, I don't trip. I soon reach the top of the hill, and I can now get a better look at the stone.

The stone isn't randomly glowing, no, it glows in runes of the long forgotten language of our ancestors. The runes glow red, around 3 words of them are lighted, with the moon on the ring also glowing slightly.

I pick up the knife, hesitating for a slight second as I realise how many different people have used this knife before I. However, I disregard my hesitations as I trust in the goddess to protect my body from harm.

I slit the skin of my palm with the knife, the blood welling up almost immediately. I close my hand, and then open it up to the right of where my father's blood still remains. I watch the red droplets fall onto the grey surface of the stone.

After a few seconds, once there is a reasonable amount of blood lying on the stone, I bring my hands up behind my neck, to undo the locket that the resides around my neck. I feel the cut of the knife already stop bleeding, as the skin begins to close up, the fastened healing one of the many benefits of my kind.

I unclip the latch of the chain and take it off from around my neck. I place the locket in a dent in the stone in which looks like it was made for the jewellery. Suddenly, it all begins to glow. This time, it isn't red, no, it is a bright, almost white blue. I hear murmurs from the crowd, but I disregard them.

I finally put down the knife in which I had been holding this whole time, and then begin to walk down, off the hill. Thankfully, I still don't trip.

As I finally stop walking, standing to the left side of my father, he gives me a strange look, of what isn't disdain, but pure confusion. In any other situation, I'd find it comical. Today, however, I find it more worrying than anything.

I see Beta begin to do what we had done, placing the final object on the top of the hill. The Luna Locket, the Alpha Ring and the Beta Bracelet are the three objects in which the Nightingale Pack put the most pride in, as they are a sign of our loyalty to the goddess.

The stone glows bluey-white, red and green. It's rather amazing to see, as from down here you can only see that the stone is glowing, and not the wording that is written upon the rock. Beta soon comes down, off the hill, and stands next to my father.

After him, the Elders begin to trail up the mountain, the 8 of the following one after another, in the order of importance and their contribution to our pack.

It makes me sad, to see the group in the formal setting for the first time since the Head Elder died. The Head Elder is now the father of Beta, who is a slightly younger man than my own father, and so his own father is still going strong. My grandpa, however, died last fall, and so his own Beta had to replace him.

I see them, one after another, bleed slightly over the bottom of the stone, as they complete the offering, as all of our leaders have given a part of their strength to her. They finish quickly, as their blood makes a line across the glowing stone, and soon begin to come down the hill.

Once they have joined us at the foot of the hill, father speaks for the first time since we began the ceremony, "We give these offerings to the goddess of the moon in return for the safety of our souls and the protection of ourselves and children. We pray for wealth and happiness. So we shall honour you with our hearts as we bask in your glow. We honour you."

The crowd repeats his last sentence, "We honour you."

"Now that we have completed our offering, the moon goddess shall accept them once we have all left her holy grounds. However, today, we request of her to approve of the future for Beta Michael's position." My father states.

"Alex Mainwaring, step forward."

Alex steps away from the crowd, "Do you accept the duties that shall be placed upon you in your role?"

"I do."

"Then repeat your vows in front of your pack and the goddess, and we shall see if she deems you worthy."

Alex won't be approved, I already know it. She has denied people before, and I know of a few packs in the past who have had denied Betas as they were meant to become Alphas through marriage.

"I vow to follow my Alpha and stick forever by his side. I vow that I will stand before my pack, and my goddess to bring this pack to glory, and I will forever hold my honour up to stand as a leader of Nightingale Pack." Alex's voice doesn't waver, not once. He was made for this role. If only he wasn't so weak-willed, he could have been an amazing Alpha. I guess he'll just be an average one.

His parents stand either side of him, leading him up the hill. He stands before the stone and is the only one who speaks whilst up there.

"I ask of you, my goddess, to give me the position of Beta, and to accept me as I combine the blood with those who have tried and gained my position before." Alex eagerly picks up the knife and slashes through his palm.

As the blood begins to fall, I already know the sky will not respond, showing his failure to gain his position. Or maybe it will flash red, to show that he will be Alpha.

What a surprise I get, when the sky flashes green as the blood hits the stone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey, my remarkable readers!

Sorry I couldn't update yesterday. Anyway, were you guys as surprised as Violet? Or were you all expecting it?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please consider leaving a vote if you enjoyed the chapter, and I greatly appreciate feedback, whether it is good or bad.